OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors are taking another chance on a television analyst and former NBA guard who has never been a head coach at any level. The Warriors won the bidding war with the New York Knicks for Steve Kerr on Wednesday, hiring him away from the TNT broadcast table to be their coach. Kerr agreed to a five-year, $25 million deal with Golden State, said his agent, Mike Tannenbaum. The Warriors confirmed the agreement Wednesday night and said they will introduce Kerr at a news conference after the contract is complete. Kerr had been in talks with the Knicks about becoming their coach since Phil Jackson took over as team president in March. He won three titles playing for Jackson in Chicago and another two under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Kerr told NBA.com, which first reported the agreement, that going to Golden State "just felt like the right move on many levels." He said his daughter plays volleyball nearby at the University of California, Berkeley, his oldest son is in college in San Diego and his youngest son is a junior in high school. Kerr called the offer to coach the Knicks a "tantalizing" opportunity. He said it was "agonizing" to say no to Jackson "because of what I think of him and what hes done for my career." "I told Phil, I think I have to pursue this other opportunity," Kerr told the website. "He gave me his blessing. He said. Go look at it, and do what was in my heart." Kerr, 48, said last month that he has wanted to coach since stepping down after three seasons as general manager of the Phoenix Suns in June 2010. And while the lure of rebuilding a flagship franchise with his mentor at Madison Square Garden looked appealing, the chance to coach a Western Conference contender in his home state proved to be too much. Kerr replaces Mark Jackson, who was fired by the Warriors on May 6 after three seasons and back-to-back playoff appearances -- mostly due to a sour relationship between him and team management. The Warriors job is certainly a far more attractive one than when owner Joe Lacob hired Jackson away from the ESPN/ABC broadcast table in June 2011. The Warriors are coming off a 51-win season and consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 20 years, and theyve surrounded star Stephen Curry with a talented young core. Kerr became the hottest coaching candidate on the market after Phil Jackson started courting him to the Knicks. Kerr also has close ties to Lacob, his son, assistant GM Kirk Lacob, and Warriors President Rick Welts, who worked in Phoenixs front office during Kerrs time as Suns general manager. Given the tension that built between Jackson and Warriors management last season -- and the back-and-forth that played out between them in the media after Jackson was dismissed -- having an established relationship with Kerr was a big reason Lacob wanted him as coach. Lacob lauded Kerr as a candidate last week and defended the decision to change coaches -- which has been debated at great lengths in the basketball-united Bay Area. He compared the decision to how he built his fortune as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. Lacob said theres a different person to lead a business at different stages of development, and the Warriors have gone from a "startup" company to an organization looking to maximize its output. "Or in this case win an NBA championship," he said. "And we just felt overall we needed a different person to go forward and get to the next level." And while Kerr has no coaching experience, he played 15 seasons and -- also similar to Mark Jackson -- has been around some of the most successful sideline leaders. Kerr has credited Phil Jackson and Tex Winter for most of his basketball knowledge. Winter taught the triangle offence -- which Kerr would not commit to running with the Warriors -- and was a longtime assistant for Jackson, who used the system to win an NBA-record 11 championships as a coach of the Bulls and Lakers. Golden State also spoke with former Orlando Magic and Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy during its search. Van Gundy agreed to a $35 million, five-year deal with Detroit on Tuesday after the Pistons also gave him control of basketball operations -- something the Warriors wouldnt do with general manager Bob Myers and Kirk Lacob in place. The Warriors met with Kerr again on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City, where Kerr was calling the Thunder-Clippers game. And they apparently made a big enough impression -- and contract offer -- to land the man they wanted all along. Jose Pirela Jersey .Y. - Geno Smith shouted a couple of mighty expensive expletives. Allen Craig Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. http://www.cheappadresjerseys.com/. - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. Jordan Lyles Jersey . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. Johnny Manziel Jersey .com) - Colorado forward P.Other teams probably could have offered Radim Vrbata $10 million over two years. What the Vancouver Canucks had that the competition didnt was the chance to play with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. So when general manager Jim Benning suggested it, Vrbata took it as another reason to sign with the Canucks. "He was saying that they were looking for somebody to play with Sedins and that they think I could be the guy," Vrbata said on a conference call Thursday. "I feel like with the way they play and the way they see the game, its something that would probably suit my game. Yeah, it was real interesting to have that chance." Itll be up to coach Willie Desjardins to form the lines, Benning said, but it was part of the plan to give Vrbata an opportunity with the Sedins. Benning likes that Vrbata can read plays and jump into holes. Vrbata, who had 20 goals and 31 assists in his final season with the defensive-minded Arizona Coyotes, will be counted on to produce more if hes Vancouvers top-line right-winger. He doesnt mind that pressure. "If you play with players like Sedins, you know that you will get your chances," Vrbata said. "When I think about the way they play, that kind of suits my game, I think. They like lots of give-and-gos and they like to get open for each other. I think thats something that I like to do, too." The addition of Vrbata could push Alex Burrows out of that spot. The 33-year-old who had been a regular linemate with the Sedins since 2010 had just five goals and 10 assists in 49 games this past season. Benning sees Burrows as the second-line right-winger alongside centre Nick Bonino -- acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the Ryan Kesler trade -- and either Zack Kassian or Jannik Hansen. "We want to have balance amongst our four lines. We want to have scoring, we want to have scoring depth," Benning said. "Now we have depth at the forward positions where every line can contribute in the scoring, and thatts one of the things that we set out to do.dddddddddddd" Signing Vrbata could be the last major move in unrestricted free agency this summer for the Canucks, who got veteran goaltender Ryan Miller on Tuesday for $18 million over three years. "For the most part were done," Benning said. "We wanted to address a couple things to make our team a complete team going into this next season, and I think weve done that. ... Were going to probably go into the season with this team and were going to see where we stand and go from there." Vrbata fit on that checklist because the Canucks wanted to add a scorer. Benning said there were some possibilities on Day One, but when they didnt materialize, the 33-year-old Czech became a priority. "For us, he plays a 200-foot game," Benning said. "He plays in all three zones and hes got real good hockey sense and hands to finish. Hes going to help us on our power play." And in the shootout. Vrbata had five goals on 12 attempts last season. But its the goals he could help produce alongside the Sedins that made Vrbata particularly attractive to the Canucks, and vice-versa. Vrbata understands he might not spend 80 games with Daniel and Henrik but doesnt sound like hed complain about doing that. "Im a big, big believer in chemistry and kind of synergy," Vrbata said. "I feel like when you have chemistry with somebody, that helps so much in todays league where sometimes its so tight and if you can really trust and gain advantage by knowing the guys youre on a line (with)." Notes -- The Canucks lost Mike Santorelli in free agency after the centre signed a US$1.5-million, one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Benning said Vrbata got the nod over Santorelli because he has been a more consistent scorer over a longer period of time. ... Benning confirmed on a conference call with reporters that Travis Green would be back as coach of the Canucks AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. ' ' '